


Close Your Eyes (I'll Be Here in the Morning)

by maridel_organa_hardeen



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avenger Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Gets a Hug, Bucky Barnes Has Nightmares, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Comfort, Cooking, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Forehead Kisses, How Do I Tag, How do I do any of this, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Men Crying, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Platonic Cuddling, Reader-Insert, Sleepy Cuddles, Songfic, no y/n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maridel_organa_hardeen/pseuds/maridel_organa_hardeen
Summary: Bucky has nightmares, but this time Steve isn't there.Or: Bucky finally gets some of the comfort we all know he deserves.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 59





	Close Your Eyes (I'll Be Here in the Morning)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by 'I'll be here in the morning' by Townes Van Zandt. Though the original is great, I've fallen in love with this version by Allison Young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLeOlqaFHc0  
> Feel free to listen while you read. I just love this song, and Bucky... and this happened. Enjoy!

Steve was probably going to kill you.

He had just come in to tell you that he was going on a mission, and give you a hug before he left. Now you sat on your bed, unsure of what to do.

The problem was that it was a _solo_ mission. Not that you didn't think Steve could handle himself. The real problem was Bucky. More specifically, Bucky's nightmares.

You shared Steve and Bucky's floor of the tower, and as such, you were discreetly familiar with Bucky's problem. Take that to mean you heard him crying almost every night, and had enough tact not to say anything. You'd hear Bucky wake up screaming, then burst into tears. A minute later, Steve’s running footsteps hurrying to Bucky’s room. The cries would last for a moment more, then silence. 

Except Steve was leaving. And you sure as hell weren't going to lay there and listen to Bucky sob for the next three nights.

So, you asked Jarvis to wake you if anything happened to him. And Steve was going to kill you. 

Because Bucky was always so bewildered when he woke up, he often thought he was back at Hydra and acted accordingly.There had been several times you’d woken up to find Steve sporting a shiner he most certainly hadn’t had the night before, and Bucky would avoid him for the rest of the day out of shame. If you went in there and got hurt, they would both be pissed. Bucky at himself, because he hurt you, and Steve at you for getting yourself hurt.

At this point, though, you didn’t really care. If you could wake Bucky, and keep him out of that hellscape in his mind, you’d take the bruises and Steve’s ire. 

*-*-*-*-*-*

With your mind slightly more made up, you headed into the common area for your floor. It was pretty late in the day, five o’clock at least, by your guess, and you knew Bucky would probably be there. As you stepped into the kitchen, you found that he was.

Bucky stood at the stove, muttering curses and fighting with a pan of carbonized scrambled eggs.

“Uh, hey, Buck?” You fought the smile that tugged at the corner of your mouth. “You need some help?”

“Can you cook?”

“Better than that.”

“Then take over, doll.” He waved you over and thrust his ruined supper towards you. “I dunno what the hell I’m doing. I asked whatever that thing is in the ceiling what was somethin’ easy to make, and it said eggs. This doesn’t seem real easy.” 

You chucked as you scraped the pan into the trash.

“Have you really never cooked?” you asked good-naturedly.

“Unless you’re countin’ peanut butter sandwiches, that’d be a no.” He shrugged, leaning back against the counter. “Steve always did the cooking.”

“Ah.” You pulled open a drawer and picked out another frightfully expensive skillet. “Whaddya think about breakfast for dinner?”

“At this point, I’ll take anything that isn’t black.”

“Breakfast for dinner it is. But you’re helping.” You raised an eyebrow at him.

He raised his hands in a surrendering gesture and backed away from you, a grin spread wide on his face.

“I’m not sure that’s your best idea, doll. That was my third try on those eggs, and I’m pretty sure the whole carton’s gonna jump out the window if I get near ‘em again.”

“Yeah, right. Get your ass over here, Sergeant.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

You and Bucky sat on the sofa, plates piled high with eggs, sausage, toast, and hashbrowns resting precariously in your laps.

“Not bad, huh?” you garbled impolitely through a mouthful of food.

“Not _bad_? Damn, doll, I may elect you to replace Steve on KP.”

You laughed and punched at his arm, coming close to knocking his fork to the floor. You dug in the couch cushions for a moment and fished out the remote.

“You wanna watch something?” You held it out to him, but he waved it back at you.

“Whatever you want. Still not quite used to this whole movies whenever you want them thing.”

“Ok.” You chewed your lip in thought for a moment. “You seen _Indiana Jones_ yet?”

“No? Somethin’ bout a guy from Indiana?”

“Not quite.” You flashed him a grin and put on _Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark_.

The end of the movie found you and Bucky surrounded by plates, mugs, and a greasy bowl containing a handful of popcorn dregs. Bucky yawned, and you swatted at him. 

"Don't start that. We still gotta clean up all this and the kitchen."

"Aw, doll," he groaned, stretching. 

"Don't 'aw doll' me. On your feet, soldier." You pulled yourself to your feet and gathered up your share of the dishes. "Common, Barnes."

Grumbling, he stood too and followed you to the kitchen. 

When all the dishes were in the dishwasher, and the kitchen was restored to some semblance of order, both of you headed to bed. 

*-*-*-*-*-*

You lay awake for a long time, wondering what exactly you were going to do if he did need you. You were fast and strong, as well as fairly small, and you figured you could wake him without getting hurt, but your plan ended there. How were you going to explain your presence in his room? As close as the two of you seemed to have grown, you weren't positive that he wouldn't react poorly to your uninvited presence in his room, and, more particularly, invading his privacy during such a vulnerable moment. Could you wake him up, then run? No, that wouldn't do. Really, what were you going to do?

Your mind continued to run in circles for the next couple of hours, and just as you were about to give up altogether, Jarvis' voice broke in.

"Mr. Barnes appears to be distressed."

"Thanks, J." You slipped out of bed and padded to the door of Bucky's room.

That was odd. He wasn't yelling. You started to leave, figuring Jarvis had made some kind of miscalculation, when you heard a muffled whimper. Was that...? It had to be.

You turned the doorknob slowly and pushed open the door. Instead of flailing and fighting, Bucky lay tightly curled into a ball at the foot of his bed, clutching at the bedsheets and quivering in fear. The only sounds he made were breathless, pleading whispers, and barely-audible sobs. His wet cheeks sparkled in the strip of light coming from the half-opened door.

You rushed to kneel by the foot of the bed and barely stopped yourself from gathering him into your arms. That probably wouldn't be a good idea at the moment.

"Buck? Common, wake up." You spoke low, but loud enough to, hopefully, rouse him. The last thing you wanted to do was yell. 

His only response was a frightened moan. 

"Common, Buck, come back to me. You're safe." You raised your voice a little bit. 

He cowered away from the sound of your voice and continued to quietly cry in his sleep.

It didn't look like you were going to be able to wake him up without touching him. Taking a deep breath, you reached out and rested a hand on his right arm, heavy enough for him to feel, but gentle enough that you hoped his mind would understand that it wasn't part of his dream. You felt his muscles tense under your touch, and he flinched violently away from you, trembling and waiting for worse.

" _Bucky_ , honey. It's ok. Wake up," you pleaded. "Nobody's gonna hurt you." You spoke loudly, emotion clouding your voice. How often did he have to go through this? As vigilant as Steve was, he couldn't hear everything. Certainly not these small sobs. And then Bucky would have to wake up alone, in the dark, and comfort himself. The very thought tore at your heart.

You began to stroke his arm firmly.

"Buck!" 

Finally, he woke with a terrified gasp and a strangled shout of "Please!" He stayed curled in on himself, right where he was, and shook with the weight of his tears.

"Buck? Hey, I'm right here." You let your hand drop, unwilling to upset him further.

He jerked and looked at you.

"Doll? Why are you here?" he croaked out, his eyes still running.

"I… well, I asked Jarvis to tell me if anything happened to you. You're safe now," you reminded. Though it occurred to you that he might be offended by you telling him something so obvious, he simply nodded miserably, closing his eyes again.

"You can go. 'Mfine."

"Buck, you're crying. You're not fine. Let me sit with you for a little while?" You furrowed your brow in sympathy.

He gave you another nod, and you leaned forward against the edge of the bed from your spot on the floor.

"Can I touch you?" A wary nod, and you reached forward to wipe a few tears away from his blue eyes. Leaning into your touch, he let out a tiny whimper of pleasure. 

"Oh, honey. Why don't you come sit with me in the living room?" you suggested, rubbing circles on his back. "You shouldn't try to go back to sleep right now, and you shouldn't lay in here by yourself, either."

"Ok." He uncurled himself a little and sat up on the edge of the bed, scrubbing the moisture off his cheeks with the back of a hand. You gave him a hand to pull him to his feet, and wrapped your arm around his waist. Leaning on you more than he would usually let himself, he breathed into your hair and walked with you down the hall.

You kicked out the footrest on the couch and laid back, extending your arms in an offer to hold him, as you'd wanted to do since the moment you walked in to find him crying. He took it, pressing himself flush to you and burying his head in your shoulder. You wrapped your arms around him tightly, alternately carding through his dark hair and rubbing patterns into his back. After about a minute had passed, you felt something wet seeping through the fabric of your sleep shirt, and Bucky shuddered forcefully.

"It's ok, honey. I've got you," you crooned, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of his head. “I’m here.”

He mumbled something into your shoulder.

“Hmm?” You shifted in your spot as he pulled back from you, gazing at you through tangled dark hair. You couldn’t help but notice how his eyes looked like they held all the pain in the world.

“I don’t know why you’re here,” he forced out, shaking his head slowly. “You- I’m too- you don’t- ” He trailed off, unable to find the words he wanted.

“No, no, no. ‘Cmere.” You pulled him into your lap, or at least all of him you could hold. “Now, you listen to me, and you listen good. You’re not too screwed up. You deserve love, and comfort, and all the good things you’re scared to have. Ok? 

“I care about you, Buck. So does Steve. So does everybody else in this tower. If you want somebody else, I’ll go get them. But you’re gonna let somebody care about you.”

Somewhere in the middle of your little speech, he’d crumpled again and wrapped himself around you.

“Do you want me to go get one of the others? Wanda, or Sam, or Nat?” you asked softly. A hard hake of his head was your answer, and you held onto him a little tighter. “Ok. Ok.”

You stayed that way for a long, long time.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“Hey, Buck?” you whispered into his hair. “We should go to bed.”

His eyes flitted open and gazed at you pleadingly.

“Common. My room.” You rubbed his shoulder.

“You’ll stay with me?”

“ _Yes_ , honey. You’re not gonna be alone tonight. Or any other night this happens.” You ran a finger across his cheekbone. “Remember?”

“Ok, doll.” He sat up, and the two of you headed back down the hall to your room.

He ended up pressed against your back, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist, his face buried in your hair.

“Doll?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you… would you sing somethin’ to me?”

“Sure. Umm…” You hummed a little, then started to softly sing.

“ _There's no stronger wind than the one_

_That blows down the lonesome railroad line._

_No prettier sight than looking back on a town you've left behind._

_There's nothing that's as real as the love that's on my mind._

_Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile …_

_“There's lots of things along the road I'd surely like to see._

_I'd like to lean into the wind and tell myself I'm free._

_But your softest whisper’s louder than the highway’s call to me._

_Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile ..._

_“All the mountains and the rivers and the valleys can't compare_

_To your blue lit dancin' eyes, dark and shinnin' hair._

_I could never hit the open road and leave you lyin' there._

_Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile …_

_“Lay your head back easy love, and close your cryin' eyes._

_I'll be layin' here beside you when the sun comes on the rise._

_I'll stay as long as the coo-coo wails, and the lonesome Bluetick cries._

_Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile ..._

_“Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile._

_“Close your eyes I'll be here in the mornin',_

_Close your eyes I'll be here for awhile.”_

Bucky slept peacefully for the first night in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, check out Allison's version of this fantastic song:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLeOlqaFHc0  
> I had the reader modify the song lyrics a touch to make it about Bucky.  
> Comments and Kudos make Bucky smile. And me. I smile too.


End file.
